“As a surgeon, obviously these statistics were disappointing and somewhat lower than what we would like them to be. This may give us cause, however, to look at how we evaluate and treat these injuries to the throwing arm. Our goal is to get these elite athletes back to their premier pre-injury health. This is important both to the player who is making a living off his athletic ability and the organization that wants its players in top shape. We may need to examine if there is a way to ‘fine-tune’ these procedures to customize them for the demands of a professional baseball player.”

The bottom line is that if your favorite player gets hurt in baseball, especially if he’s a pitcher, the odds are against a return to greatness.